Psychometric evaluation of the Farsi version of the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (F-SCHFI v7.2)

Abstract

Background: Self-care is a fundamental principle in managing heart failure as it can improve quality of life, reduce hospitalizations, and minimize the adverse effects of the disease. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the Self-care of Heart Failure Index (F-SCHFI). Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 420 patients referred to the Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center in Tehran. The translation process followed the forward-backward method, which was approved by the designer. Exploratory factor analysis, using the maximum likelihood method and Promax rotation, was conducted on a sample of 210 patients. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on another sample of 210 heart failure patients. Reliability was assessed by evaluating the internal consistency and composite reliability. Results: The study included 420 patients with an average age of 54.37±19.48 years. In the exploratory factor analysis, three factors of self-care management, symptom perception, and self-care maintenance were extracted. These factors accounted for 41.15% of the total variance. The reliability of these factors was more than 0.7. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good fit for the final model. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the F-SCHFI has good validity and reliability in patients with heart failure, making it suitable for use in various research studies.

Keywords

• self-care
• heart failure
• psychometric evaluation